Environment and Local Area: Vocabulary and the Passive Voice
The everyday Spanish words for the environment and the local area, and the passive se used to say what is done, such as se recicla el plastico, plastic is recycled, along with hay and hay que.
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Free, interactive practice on the words and structures the examiner keeps asking for.
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The environment around you
Hay muchos problemas para el medioambiente, y es importante cuidar la naturaleza. To talk about the environment and your local area in Spanish you need the right words and one very useful grammar pattern: the passive se, which lets you say what is done without saying who does it. This module builds both.
Environment words
Learn these four words before you build sentences.
Se, hay and hay que
Two patterns describe the environment and the local area.
Say what is done
The passive se is the key pattern here. Put se before the verb in the he or she form to say what is done: se recicla, it is recycled, or se contamina, it gets polluted. Use hay to say what there is, and hay que plus a plain verb to say what one must do. Keep se next to its verb and these sentences come out right.
Match the word
- el medioambiente
- reciclar
- la contaminación
- la energía
- the environment
- to recycle
- pollution
- energy
Match the place
- la ciudad
- el campo
- el río
- el bosque
- the city
- the countryside
- the river
- the forest
Say plastic is recycled
Which is the correct Spanish for plastic is recycled?
- se recicla el plástico
- se reciclar el plástico
- recicla el plástico
- el plástico reciclar
Correct Spanish
Select the TWO sentences that are correct Spanish.
- hay muchos árboles
- se contamina el río
- hay que recicla la basura
- se contaminar el río
Build the sentence
Put the Spanish words in order to say plastic is recycled.
- se
- recicla
- el
- plástico
Complete the Spanish
To say plastic is recycled, use the passive se: se _____ el plástico. To say there is a park, use _____ un parque. To say one must recycle, use hay _____ reciclar. The Spanish for the environment is el _____. The Spanish for rubbish is la _____.
Build a process
Build the Spanish for the river gets polluted.
Build a necessity
Build the Spanish for one must recycle the rubbish.
Choose the Spanish
For each English sentence, choose the best Spanish translation.
- The river gets polluted.
- One must recycle.
- There are many trees.
Write about your area
Write three or four sentences in Spanish about the environment or your local area. Use the passive se and hay.
- Say what is done for the environment, using se and a verb
- Say what there is in your area, using hay
- Say one thing one must do, using hay que and a plain verb